1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of fill for cushions of all types, particularly but not limited to cushions for beds, such as head pillows and mattresses, and furniture, including the main cushions for sitting and lying as well as the loose cushions and pillows associated with some types of furniture. Those skilled in the art will recognize the myriad of applications for the cushions of the invention.
2. Background Art
In the background art there were many types of fill for cushions. Cotton, feathers and polyester batting were used but tended to pack down and wear out. Seeds such as buckwheat hulls were used, but tended to be hard and non-conforming. Flowable cushion fill, such as liquid gels, were heavy, expensive and messy. Solid gels, such as shaped gel cushioning articles, required expensive tooling and sophisticated manufacturing techniques. Open and closed cell foams were used, but tended to place high peak pressures on the supported object. Air bladders were used but were prone to hammocking. There is a need for deformable reformable cushioning fill that is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use yet readily accommodates the shape of a cushioned object.
It is an object of the inventions to provide a cushioning fill that includes resilient beads dispersed in or intermixed with gelatinous elastomer particles. The various features and advantages of such a cushioning fill, and additional objects of the invention will become apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art on reading the specification in light of the appended drawings.